Today we commemorate Jesus’ solemn entry into Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday we commemorate the beginning of Jesus’ Passion also. For us, the Passion of Jesus is a holy time, which we call Holy Week, because we believe that through his suffering and death on the cross, Jesus allows us to feel and experience salvation, peace, and love of God in a special way. Not only we today, but also the people of that time, experienced through Jesus’ words and signs that salvation comes in Jesus and that salvation can be experienced through him. Salvation is not an unimaginable reality, but a tangible fact that we can describe as peace, love, harmony, or joy. That is why, at Jesus’ solemn entry into the Temple in Jerusalem, the people rejoiced and sang: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!
This cry has its parallel in the song of the angels at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, where it says: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”
In these two songs, the glory of God is praised and peace through God’s grace is acknowledged. What the angels experienced then is exactly what people can experience today, with one difference. People’s experiences can be quickly influenced by external events and can therefore be easily manipulated and changed.
The same people who cheered Jesus cried out after three days that they should crucify Jesus and submit to the emperor.
But I don’t believe that the angels who sang the greeting of peace at Jesus’ birth later changed their minds. They knew and experienced the nature, message, and grace of Jesus, and that’s why they sang such a greeting. But many people react depending on the situation or their own interests.
When we read these texts today and put ourselves in the shoes of the people of that time and put ourselves in their shoes, we realize that there is a big difference between the experiences and statements of the people and the angels.
The celebration of Holy Week invites us to internalize and to reflect on our experience of the truth, love, and peace of God in order to experience God’s love more intensely. The Passion of Jesus is also an image of the passion and suffering of many people today, when we think, for example, of our own suffering or of the sick, the needy, the lonely, the disappointed, and the grieving, and experience and see the many crosses of humanity today. During Holy Week, let us strive to understand the meaning of the suffering and passion of Jesus, let us try to focus more on the passion and suffering of our fellow human beings, and accept our own crosses without bitterness, so as to unite ourselves with the fate of Jesus. We can bring our own worries, sufferings, and Stations of the Cross before God through the Passion of Jesus and ask for relief with faithful trust. The God of mercy and love will make this possible for us if we make our contribution.
I cordially invite you to join us in celebrating the specially designed services during this Holy Week.
Fr Joseph Pandiappallil MCBS